Philippine Embassy achieves highest numbers of OV registration since 2003

RIYADH – The Philippine Embassy here concluded its Overseas Voting registration program in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with a last day hectic registration activity at the Embassy on Oct. 31. The last day registration activity ended the 18-month long registration period, which also saw the embassy achieving its highest Overseas Voting registration figures since 2003. The Philippine Embassy concluded Overseas Voting (OV) registration of Filipinos in Saudi Arabia by conducting a special last day registration activity. The special registration was held at the Embassy lobby. A total of 394 OV-related services were provided by the Embassy on the last day of registration with 345 new registrations-certifications facilitated. With the activity, the Embassy concluded its 18 month-long OV registration program, which started on May 6, 2014. The last day OV registration activity also saw new OV registrations-certifications reaching a total of 78,783. This represents the highest number of new OV registrations-certifications that the Philippine Embassy has facilitated since the passage of Republic Act 9189 or the Overseas Voting Act in 2003. The Embassy also conducted a total of 45 field and mobile Overseas Voting Outreach activities since May 2014 held in different locations in Riyadh, Al Khobar, Dammam, Buraidah, Hail, Hofuf, Jubail, Al Khafji, Sakaka in Al Jouf and Wadi Dawaser. Philippine Ambassador Ezzedin H. Tago, thanked the thousands of Filipinos in Saudi Arabia who took time off from work and registered as overseas voter. “I thank the thousands of kababayans in Saudi Arabia who participated in the program and gave their support to the Embassy’s Overseas Voting registration efforts. Your overwhelming support inspires us to even work harder together with COMELEC, the DFA and all stakeholders to ensure the smooth conduct of elections in 2016,” said Ambassador Tago. Qualified Filipinos who have registered as Overseas Voter in Saudi Arabia will be able to vote for the positions of President, Vice President, 12 members of the Senate and one party-list sectoral representative during the National Elections in 2016. The 30-day election period will be announced by the Embassy following instructions from COMELEC. — SG